I've had this name for ages, but no content to fill it with! After watching tonights episode however, that changed ;)
I'm not good at writing Zax (more of a Connie girl as many of my regular readers know) so I hope this is ok- it was written pretty quickly and I've only edited it once.
Please review if you can and let me know what you think! -Sophie x
Something wasn't right.
Max knew that all wasn't as it usually was with the apparent love of his life, but he couldn't quite put his finger on it. There was something about Zoe that was different, that he had noticed recently.
He was determined to find out what.
Firstly, he observed her from a distance. She went about her job with her usual beauty and elegance, all the while clicking around in her famous designer heels. Anyone would think her and Connie were related with their stylish fashion sense.
The mop haired porter sighed as he wheeled a patient out of resus, watching the curvy outline of Dr Hanna disappear from his view. What was it that was bugging him so much?
As he shoved the bed down the corridors, Max thought back to those wonderful few months they had spent together; sleeping in until gone late afternoon, sneaky get togethers in his "office" upstairs, and their long chats that usually ended in a long embrace.
He missed her. He missed her like a child misses it's parents when they drop them at the school gates every morning.
Except, the parents always come back.
It was the little things that made it special. The way they'd bump into each other and wink knowingly before laughing. The way her eyes always sparkled when he looked into them; deep chocolatey lakes he got lost in on several occasions. The way they'd laugh and joke during their break, usually sharing a cigarette or two-
Wait.
That was it.
That's what he had been missing.
The faint smell of cigarettes!
A grin appearing wide on his face, the porter wheeled the patient into his cubicle, said his goodbyes and left, only to bump into Honey who was holding a box filled with straw and paper.
"Secret Santa? Pick a name, presents got to be under a tenner and smaller than a shoebox."
Perfect.
Working quickly, he opened the bits of paper until he found the one he was looking for, and left before the barista could catch him with her brightly painted nails. But she seemed a little too pre-occupied to put up with his cheeky antics at that moment in time.
His pager went off, signalling his need. He made his way to cubicles, only to spot Zoe going through a file at the nurses station. Purely out of curiosity, he made his way past her, inhaling deeply as he did so.
"Max, what was that?" She exclaimed, putting down the folder slightly as he turned and grinned at her.
"What was what?" He asked, face full of puppy dog innocence before heading to the side room where he was needed.
He was right. The beautiful aroma of Coco Chanel was there, as comforting as ever, but she was missing the one thing that made him believe that he was good enough, and that she could at some point, be his.
Mentally high five-ing himself for the super Sherlock Holmes move, Max went into the shop and looked for the magazine he was looking for. Upon finding it, his eyes gleamed and he flicked through the pages excitedly.
Just before their shift was over, the lowly porter had to pass Dr Hanna once more. Just for the laugh of it, he sniffed her again.
"Did you just sniff me?"
Max tried his hardest not to laugh at how weirded out she was.
"Didn't do a thing." He put his hands up, looking her up and down before going and clocking off, ready for his secret Santa shopping trip.
Max arrived back at the hospital just as Zoe was leaving- her long black coat flowing behind her as it caught the bitter cold wind that came with Christmas time. Smiling to himself, he clutched the parcel with his numb, cold hands and started to follow her at a distance.
They reached a boat, though both a little while apart. Max wandered up to the side, looking at it in slight disbelief. Even he could provide more for her than that, on a porters wage too!
"Max? What are you doing here?!"
He had been spotted. Turning to face her, he smiled.
"We did the secret Santa at work. I got you." He said simply, watching as she walked down the steps towards him.
"Isn't that meant to be a secret?"
"Yeah."
"Then why did you tell me?"
"Because I wanted to give you it now, now be quiet, you're not making this any easier."
Max drew in a deep breath, watching as the air around Zoe's mouth curled and faded away into the dark night
"I noticed something was missing. When I walked past you, it didn't feel, well, smell the same. Then I figured out why."
He handed her the box and watched as she opened it, he eyes widening with pleasant shock, and a hint of admiration.
"Coco Chanel and Cigarettes just go together." He shrugged.
Zoe looked up at him and bit her lip with her perfectly white teeth. Just as she was about to speak, Dylan entered the boat.
"Sorry I'm late I-" he stopped when he noticed Zoe and her late night caller.
"I'd better be off-" Max said promptly, shoving his hands in his pockets. "With work and all tomorrow."
"Where you could have given me this?" She raised an eyebrow.
"Yeah but I couldn't wait that long. It's just I didn't realise you were living with, well, him-" Max nodded his head slightly to where the locum was watching them converse, one hand stroking his beloved dog, the other pouring a glass of wine.
"Yeah, as a friend." Zoe replied as if it was the most obvious thing in the world. Max smiled slightly.
"Merry Christmas Zo."
She smiled, closing the lid on her present and clutching it slightly to her chest. "Merry Christmas Max."
He walked off. The consultant watched his familiar outline for a few seconds before climbing the steps again.
"What did, uh, h- m-" Dylan began but Zoe just sighed.
"Max. And secret Santa from work. He uh, he forgot to give it to me earlier." She smiled as she laid her new cigarette down gently on the table, admiring it as she sipped at a glass of cool red wine.
Max still loved her.
And deep down, she still loved him too.